Prisoners
by Ravensnake
Summary: Cold, practically alone, and wandless, Hermione has to convince an unlikely ally to help her escape. Better than it sounds, I swear. May become a full-length story. Rated T but might get more mature in the future.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! This is just something that popped into my head and wouldn't get out, so I had to write it. It'll be a few chapters, but not very long, and will probably be done by the end of the month (this is me, jinxing myself. We'll see how that goes...)

The idea came from trying to describe a scene using everything but sight. It kind of evolved into this, so it's more of a writing exercise that I thought might be a cool idea.

Forgive any typos, I'll be back eventually to fix them up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...if I did, I would have rigged my sorting hat results on Pottermore so I could be in Slytherin.

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Chapter 1

They came in the night, the Death Eaters. For a long time I thought that Riddle's death meant I was safe, meant _we _were safe. I guess I was wrong. He still had some followers left, no matter how hard the aurors tried to capture them all. It had been years, and yet Harry and Ron would still go unseen for months, just from the sheer effort going into hunting down those who were still loyal to him. I was asleep, when they came, relaxed in my false sense of security. I had the basic wards up around my flat, but I guess that wasn't enough. Not only that, but they'd managed to get through the personal guard that Harry and Ron had acquired for me. I didn't hear them until it was too late, didn't see the flash of green that took the guard's life until after the figures were already in my bedroom, and I was struggling to grab my wand from under the pillow behind me.

_CRASH!_

With a wordless wave of his wand, the figure closest to the bed made me freeze in place, bound by invisible ropes and restraints, simultaneously throwing me across the room, sending me on a direct collision path to my vanity mirror. Pain erupted where the broken glass touched my skin. Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I couldn't show it. My mind flashed back to the moments I spent in Malfoy Manor, helpless and tortured by Bellatrix. I didn't like remembering, but in that moment the same sense of dread that had taken over then was threatening to burst through once more. I'd heard what the Death Eaters had taken to doing most recently, no matter how many times Ron and Harry had tried to keep me from it. They were kidnapping muggleborns, doing unspeakable things to anyone they managed to capture. We knew it was only a matter of time before they found their way to me, but I never through it'd be so soon, or that they'd have anyone really willing to come after me.

In moments, I was blinded. As I struggled to stand from the broken mirror, they bound me once more, casted a _Stupefy,_ and the world went black.

When I came to, they wasted no time in making me walk. Completely disoriented, I had no idea where I was. They must have placed a spell on my eyes, because I couldn't see, despite the lack of blind fold or bag over my head. The Death Eater didn't speak, simply dragging me by the arm. My entire body felt numb, limp as I struggled to keep up. My feet were cold, and I realized we were in some kind of dungeon, the stone freezing to the touch. A metallic slide and _clang_ signaled the opening of some kind of door. He threw me inside without a word, slamming it shut behind me. I almost toppled completely forward, my body no longer supported by my captor.

"Don't worry, I've got you." His voice came from somewhere in the dark, along with the rest of him. The next thing I registered was his smell as I collided with his chest. The faint traces of a cologne I could almost recognize, but couldn't quite place. He was familiar. A muggleborn I met at Hogwarts, maybe? His scent definitely brought Hogwarts to mind. Even though I had no idea who he was, I snuggled closer, the chill of the dungeon threatening to pierce right through me.

"Wh-Where are we?" He stiffened when I spoke, though he was, just a moment before, embracing me in response to my movements.

"In a dungeon." His tone was familiar, too. A face came to mind, but I pushed the image away just as quickly. _There's no way._

"Obviously." After a moment, I regained my bearings, standing upright on my own, hands outstretched to feel my surroundings. The room was quite small, would probably be too crowded if they put another prisoner in here. Every wall felt pretty much the same as the floor did, stone, cold, and jagged. One of the walls had a metal door, and it seemed the only way in or out of the room. My legs bumped against a cot, and I didn't realize my fellow prisoner had decided to sit down, as I once again fell on him. "Sorry."

"Did they blind you, too?" Despite the stiffness with which he'd regarded me a moment before, he positioned me gently so I was sitting beside him.

"Y-Yes." My teeth chattered, and once again I was made hyper-aware of how little I actually wore, making me grateful that the man in the room with me had also been blinded. The tank top and small shorts did nothing to keep me warm. Just as that thought hit me, I felt the warm weight of a cloak over my shoulders. Without thinking about it, I took the edges and wrapped myself in it. "Th-Thanks."

He didn't respond, but I felt him shift his weight on the cot, until it was no longer there. His steps carried him to the opposite side of the room. He wasn't exactly far away now, but I felt the absence of his body heat, as I suddenly got colder. I listened as he reached the wall opposite from me, and a small scrape of his shoe and rustle of cloth later he had set himself up there, probably sitting against the wall. The sole of his shoe, cold, like the dungeon, grazed my toe. He was either quite tall, or the room was even smaller than I'd originally thought. As soon as our feet made contact, another scrape of shoes on stone echoed through the chamber, as he pulled his feet away from me.

I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but sometime later I awoke, lying on the cot. I almost started to panic at my lack of sight, until the events of my capture came back to me. Oddly enough, this helped me relax. I knew I was in danger, but at least I had an explanation. I still had the cloak wrapped around me.

"Hello? Are you still there?" My voice was groggy from sleep. How long had I slept?

"Unfortunately." It sounded as if he were still in the same spot against the wall.

"How long have I been asleep?" I sat up, trying to push away the dizziness that fogged my mind.

"A few hours."

"Oh." An awkward silence threatened to fall over us. My head was a bit clearer now that I'd slept some, and possible plans of escape were already beginning to form. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough." A man of few words. Maybe he _wasn't_ the person I'd first imagined. His clipped tone was starting to grate on my nerves. Again, the heavy silence almost took over.

"Don't you want your cloak back?"

"Hold onto it." He barely let me finish asking the question. I sighed, knowing full well that he barely wanted to speak, but unable to stay quiet myself. If I stayed quiet, it was almost like acknowledging defeat – something I was unwilling to do.

"Aren't you cold?"

"No." Although I couldn't see his face, or read his eyes, I knew he was lying. Without speaking, I got up, sure that he could hear my movements. Carefully avoiding where I thought his feet would be, I walked along one of the walls and made my way to the spot where he sat. "What are you doing?"

"You're lying." I crouched down to where he was, sliding my hand down the wall until it met his shoulder. Again, he stiffened, but I didn't care. He'd helped me, even if it was only a little, so I intended to return the favor. "We'll be no good if we die from hypothermia. It's too cold down here for either of us." Eventually, my hand found his and I made him stand, leading him back to the cot. "And sitting on the floor won't help either."

After an awkward shuffle, I managed to get him to sit back on the cot, wrapping the cloak around the both of us the best I could. "Why are you doing this?"

For a moment, I was distracted. I'd placed my head I the space between his shoulder and neck, and I could feel his pulse against my skin, quickening at the contact. He stiffened again.

"So neither one of us dies from hypothermia. The most effective way of keeping warm is by staying close, and we need to keep warm in order to think straight. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to escape."

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Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think! I know they're a bit out of character, but I suppose people change some when thrown into odd situations.

Thanks again! Much love!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! I hope you've all liked this story so far. Really wish I had some *cough* reviews *cough*. Anyway, I know it's not my usual kind of writing, so any feedback on some technical things I could do better would be really appreciated!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since Chapter 1...I still don't own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 2

_His eyes pleaded with me from across the room. Did Bellatrix know her nephew was standing right there, just on the other side of the door? _Take me with you_, his eyes said. Or was I misinterpreting them? I'm sure, in that moment, my eyes were pleading as loudly, if not more so, with him to stop her. The pain was unbelievable, and every moment that passed seemed like it would be my last. I _wanted _it to be my last. I stopped feeling the cold marble floor underneath me, until all I felt was the burning sensation coursing through every inch of me. Tears pricked behind my eyes, but I refused to let him see me cry. I turned my face in the other direction. Another scream ripped through me._

"Shh…shh, it's okay. Wake up. Hey, wake up!" My cellmate's voice broke through my scream, until I jolted upright.

It took a while for me to recollect myself, to bring my breathing under control. I still couldn't see anything, and for a long time the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own gasping breath and beating heart. The room was still fairly cold, but I noticed that my cellmate still hadn't removed himself from the cot, so I assumed he'd taken what I said seriously. We were both still wrapped in the cloak, but he was barely touching me, the skin of his arm only just grazing against mine. I could still feel the warmth coming off him, though, and for that I was grateful.

"Sorry. I…um…"

"You sleep like the dead." His comment caught me off guard. Before, his tone had been almost concerned. Now, it was as dead pan as ever.

"I don't think this is a time to be making jokes." I took a deep breath, steadying my voice and deciding not to apologize for the rude awakening.

"I suppose you're right." He sighed, and I was surprised that he'd let that go so easily. His voice was worn out, tired, and again I wondered how long he'd been held captive. I knew he wouldn't give me a proper answer, so I didn't bother to ask again. "Was it a nightmare?"

I hadn't expected him to keep the conversation going, and it didn't sound like he was actually interested, but something spurred me to answer. "Yes."

It was a nightmare I hadn't suffered in a very long time. The last time was the day _he _went missing. It's assumed he ran away, cowardly snake that he is. Soon after the trial that acquitted him from crimes during the war, Draco Malfoy went under the radar, until no one heard anything from him. Ever. Working for the ministry, I was privy to more information than most, but not even the security detail they'd placed on him was able to track him down. Where he was now was anyone's guess, really, and we all had our theories. Personally, I was pretty sure he was state-side. The U.S. hadn't been affected much by the war, and the Malfoy name wasn't as well-known there as it was in Europe.

"What was it about?" This time, his voice held the faint hint of curiosity. Cloth ruffled somewhere beside me as I assumed he took a more comfortable position. His hand brushed mine as he moved, and the contact sent a small jolt through me. I jumped back, as if I'd been burned, from the surprise.

"The war." I moved, as well, so I could lean against the wall, making sure the cloak was firmly between the cold stone and me.

"Anything in particular?"

"Does it matter?" I turned defensive, then, unwilling to confide in a total stranger. Not even Harry and Ron knew about that particular nightmare.

"I guess not." He seemed to shrug, his arm brushing mine lightly. I crossed mine in front of my chest. "So how are we going to get out of here? You mentioned something about a possible plan?"

"You're very talkative today, aren't you?" He'd been quite tight-lipped the day before, or at least what I thought was the day before, and now he wouldn't stop talking. It seemed he was about to go back to being quiet, as he let my question hang in the air around us for what felt like a solid five minutes. "Hello? Still there?"

"Yeah." Great. I could almost feel the iciness in his tone. Some kind of barricade that had fallen was now back up once more. "The plan?"

Instead of antagonizing him further, I answered his original question. "I was thinking our best shot would be to try to get a wand from one of the guards. How often do they come in here?"

He scoffed. "You don't want to do that. They hardly come, and when they do, they'll take you and you won't come back. That's what happened to the last girl."

"The last girl wasn't me." I couldn't help the arrogance in my tone. He had so little faith.

"Ah yes, the great Hermione Granger here to save the day when she couldn't even save herself from being captured." My entire body went stiff when he said my name. "What were Potter and Weasley doing, anyway, that they weren't there to protect you?"

_No. Way._ I stood slowly from the cot, opting instead to walk across the room. I stumbled, thanks to the blindness, but eventually found the other wall.

"How long have you known who I am? Did you lie about being blinded?" Again, that self-consciousness started to creep up on me.

"Relax, I'm blind as a bat. And almost since the moment you were thrown in here."

"How?"

"To be honest, your voice is hard to forget." I guess it had been a safe bet to assume he went to Hogwarts.

"Alright. You know who I am. Who are _you_?" He didn't respond for a long time, and for a moment, I felt utterly alone in the room, as if he'd simply disappeared from it. "Answer me."

"I will. When we're out of here. For now, I'm enjoying the anonymity." His tone and words only served to annoy me. Who did he think he was? _You know who he is._ No, I refused to entertain _that_ particular idea. It was impossible. He'd been gone for over a year. If there was something Malfoys are good at, is staying out of reach.

"Fine. If you want to be uncooperative, by all means, I hope you enjoy it here. I, on the other hand, would much rather be on the other side of these walls."

"I never said I wouldn't cooperate."

"Then tell me how often the guards come around."

"I already did."

"How long was the last girl here before they c-collected her?" I was shivering again, the cold seeping its way back into me. He noticed, and I listened as he stood from the bed, crossing the small space between us and wrapping me in his cloak again, leading me back to the cot.

"It felt like three days."

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Thank you for reading! I know it's a bit slow, and the chapters are on the shorter side, but I feel an action scene coming up soon, so stay tuned!

Please review!


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